Chapter 17: Vendettas

Sitting down on the cold floor of his new accommodation, Seth couldn't help but ponder about his current predicament. By travelling back into the Demon Domain, not only had he put himself at risk, but he had also gotten caught again as well. However, had he not returned, the pact that he had made with the Singing Sisters would've ultimately killed him at some point. As far as Seth was concerned, the current situation he had gotten himself into was clearly a"damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario.

It had been a fair amount of time since Seth had been locked up in this second holding room. Much like the dungeon downstairs, it sported neither any external windows nor furniture. However, the door to this room lacked a window of any sort. While it did provide Seth with some actual privacy, it gave him a further feeling of emptiness, as he could no longer even get a sense as to what could be going on outside his room.

What would happen to his family? Or the fairies? Or Sarah, for that matter? Here Seth was, imprisoned in this tiny room with no plan to escape. What was he supposed to do? Even if he could break out, Seth lacked the powers and tools necessary to even so much as harm Murdred. Unless a miracle were to suddenly occur, Seth's chances of defeating Murdred and getting back home seemed relatively hopeless.

Seth was caught by surprise when the door to the cell swung open, revealing Xipp, Xeero and Xillch standing on the other side, blocking the doorway.

"Hi Seth," said Xipp in a rather smug voice.

"Oh great," said Seth dryly, "it's Huey, Dewey and Louie. What do you three want?"

"Lord Murdred has requested your presence," said Xeero.

Seth could feel as his heart skipped a beat. "What does he want?"

"He just wants to talk to you," said Xillch. "So either you come with us, or we'll make you come."

Seth groaned. "Fine, I'll come."

The adlets sneered at Seth as he made his way to the door and walked up next to them. Remaining within their reach, Seth walked alongside Xipp, Xeero and Xillch, until they had arrived back in front of the doors to Murdred's throne room.

"Open," said Xeero, prompting the large doors to the throne room to slide open.

"Come in," said Murdred from atop his throne. Going by the tone of his voice, the Demon God sounded neither perturbed nor happy.

"Go on," said Xipp, shoving his oversized paws against Seth's back. The amount of force that Xipp had used left Seth with no choice but to stumble forward by several steps.

"Approach me, Seth," said Murdred.

Knowing that there was no way out, Seth proceeded to walk through the throne room and then up the stops of the dais, stopping directly in front of Murdred himself. Standing next to Murdred was Demoric. For whatever reason, Helwic was not around.

"You wanted to see me?" asked Seth.

Murdred nodded as he rubbed one of the many twisted horns that protruded from his scalp. "I feel that I've been going about this whole situation entirely the wrong way. See, you keep claiming that you're not evil, and that you don't have any real enemies."

"Well, no true enemies in the mortal world."

"I find that a bit hard to believe," said Murdred. "There are billions of people living in your world. Are you sure that none of them are people you despise? Homosexuals, perhaps? The Jews?"

"I am not a racist," said Seth. "Not only that, but I'm just one person! I've only actually met a very small fraction of my world's population!"

"Well, of those people you've met, is there anybody you don't like?"

"What do you care?"

"Answer the question!" snarled Murdred, stomping his clawed foot upon the floor.

"Well, there's been a couple of jerks I've run into. Can't say I'm a big fan of them."

"Tell me about these jerks," said Murdred.

"They're just people who've been unjustly mean towards me," said Seth.

"Like who?"

"Well, there was this one guy I knew back in middle school. His name was Josh Ruddock and he was real a prick. Always such a bully. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You don't like this Josh person?" asked Murdred.

"No way," said Seth.

"Seize him, Demoric."

The nearby negafae held out his hands, which emitted a black aura. Seth now found himself unable to move.

"Hey, what'd I do?"

"Focus on Josh," said Murdred. "Do it!"

Not knowing what else to do, Seth closed his eyes and pictured Josh in his head. Roughly Seth's age, Josh was tall, a fair bit overweight, and had long, messy dark hair.

"Okay, I've got him," said Seth.

"Open your eyes," said Murdred. "Now!"

Seth opened his eyes and saw Murdred staring directly at him. As soon as Murdred closed his eyes, the vertical wrinkle on Murdred's elongated forehead slid open, revealing that the Demon God possessed what appeared to be a third eye. Of course! It had to Murdred's evil eye, which Sarah had mentioned!

Significantly larger than his other eyes, Murdred's evil eye opened sideways, and appeared to be a large, solid white ball with no iris or pupil. The eye proceeded to glow vibrantly.

"No, don't!" said Seth, clenching his own eyes shut.

"Keep your eyes open," said Murdred. "And focus on Josh. I will not hurt you."

Seth stared into Murdred's glowing evil eye. Glowing profusely, the eye seemed to be emitting some invisible force of energy.

"What is this doing?" asked Seth.

"Pinpointing Josh," said Demoric. "It's similar to how we tracked down Sarah."

"I think I have him," said Murdred. "Take note of his position, Demoric."

"I'm getting something," said Demoric, releasing Seth from his hold. The negafae appeared to be be directing his focus towards Murdred's evil eye. "I think this is it. I'm activating activating a portal... now!"

Demoric then waved a silver wand and conjured up a portal in the center of the room. Unlike the white portals that the fairies had used, this one was black.

Murdred proceeded to close his evil eye, then opened up his two normal ones. "Xipp, Xeero, Xillch! Enter the portal and bring back the boy I envisioned."

"You got it," said Xillch, as he charged into the portal, along with Xipp and Xeero. Seconds later, the three adlets came running out of the still open portal. Xipp was holding onto none other than Josh Ruddock, whom Seth hadn't seen in over a year. The portal then closed off behind the adlets.

"Put me down, you stupid bear!" snapped Josh, who was squirming to escape from Xipp's grasp. It took a moment for Seth to register that the reason Josh was calling the adlets "bears" was because he didn't have magical milk to drink.

"Bring him to me," said Murdred.

Xipp proceeded to walk up towards Murdred. Holding onto Josh's wrist, he practically dragged the baggy-clothed captive up towards Murdred's throne. Now that he was close by, Seth could count the piercings on Josh's face. The larger boy also reeked of cannabis.

"Seth?" exclaimed Josh, once he had been brought up onto the dais. "Seth Sore-ass-son? What are you doing here, you little spaz? What is this place?"

"Shut up," growled Murdred.

"What the hell are you?" asked Josh.

Facing Josh, Murdred closed his eyes and opened his evil eye.

"Yo, Seth! What's this all about?"

Murdred's evil eye gazed directly at Josh for a few seconds. It then closed and his normal eyes opened up again.

"Seth, Seth, Seth," said Murdred. "This is your idea of a threat?"

"Look, the guy's a jerk!" said Seth, "but he's a saint compared to you!"

"Are you retarded?" asked Josh. "Nothing here makes sense!"

"This boy barely even qualifies as evil!" blurted Murdred. "The darkness within him is almost non-existent. He is useless to me!"

"Well, sor-ry," said Seth.

"Look, someone tell this stupid bear to let go of me," exclaimed Josh. "I want to beat the shit out of Seth!"

"Seth," said Murdred, "does this boy bother you?"

"I was doing just fine before your adlets brought him here," replied Seth.

"Seth, if you join forces with me, you can have your way with people like him. People you don't like."

"I keep telling you that I won't do such a thing!" exclaimed Seth.

"Perhaps a little freebie would persuade you to change your mind," said Murdred. "Seth, go stand in the center of the room. Now."

"What do you mean by freebie?" asked Seth.

"Just... go. Xipp, bring Josh with you."

Seth walked down the dais and over towards the center of the throne room. Xeero and Xillch were loitering nearby, while Xipp and Josh brought up the rear.

"Xipp, release Josh."

As Xipp released his hold on Josh, Seth held his arms in front of his face.

"Hey, Josh," said Seth. "You... think we can talk about this or something? We're in real trouble right now!"

Saying nothing, Josh tackled Seth, knocking him down onto his back on the stone flooring. If Seth were to harbor a guess, Josh had to have weighed at least two-hundred pounds, as he could not get out from under him. Seth watched in horror as Josh prepared to smash a right hook towards his face.

Before the fist could make contact, Seth felt as the pressure from Josh's body seemingly vanished. Had Josh just disappeared?

"Hey!" squeaked Josh in a tiny voice. Seth sat up and watched as Josh, now the size of a mouse, fell down off of his stomach and landed between his thighs.

"See, Seth?" said Murdred. "My negafae can do great things for you, if you join me. No longer will people be able to boss you around. You'll be the one calling the shots!"

"Help!" screamed Josh at the top of his tiny lungs. "What's happening?"

Seth looked down at the shrunken boy in his lap. "Seth! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me! Please! I'll do anything! Anything!"

Seth didn't know what to think, or what he should do. As much as he hated Josh, it wasn't his fault he'd been shrunk.

"Go on, Seth," said Murdred. "Do as you will with him."

Seth grabbed Josh gently in one hand, then placed him down on the floor and stood up.

"What's the matter with you, Seth?" asked Murdred. "Demoric is giving you the perfect opportunity to destroy your enemy! Do it!"

"I can't do this!" said Seth. "Josh may be a bad person, but he's not in the same league of evil as someone like you!"

"We aren't getting through to this one," said Murdred. "Try something else, Demoric."

Demoric shot a small bolt of black energy down towards Josh. Once it faded, Josh's clothes had vanished. He was now completely naked.

"Stop!" screamed Josh, using his hands to conceal his genitals.

"Don't you find this funny, Seth?" asked Murdred. "If destroying people isn't your game, we can start with torment and work our way up."

"No!" cried Seth, who didn't want to admit that seeing Josh in this state was mildly amusing, even though it was entirely immoral.

"What about... this?" asked Demoric, shooting another black bolt at Josh. Seth watched as the bolt hit Josh, causing the shrunken, naked boy to transmogrify into a normal-sized turkey.

"Enough!" cried Seth, as Josh Ruddock, who was now a game bird, was running around him, gobbling and flapping his wings in distress. "There's no reasoning with you!"

"Well, this has been a waste," said Murdred. "We'll need to try another approach."

Murdred got up from his throne and walked down to where Seth and turkey Josh currently were. He then grabbed Josh in one claw and lifted him into the air. "Demoric, restore Josh to his human form."

Demoric shot Josh with another black bolt of energy, turning him back into a human, though now within Murdred's grasp. Josh was apparently still naked.

"What are you doing?" asked Josh, as Murdred closed his eyes, then opened his evil eye and gazed directly at Josh with it. Seth watched as Josh stared directly into the glowing eye. A moment later, Josh's skin and hair had turned completely white.

Josh was then tossed onto the floor, but did not flinch. He had been turned into a mute albino, just like Warren used to be.

"Dispose of this trash," said Murdred.

Xipp, Xeero and Xillch all huddled around Josh, then proceeded to tear off the albino's limbs and started to gnaw away at his flesh. The sight was horrifying for Seth to watch.

"You monsters!" screamed Seth, though the remark only seemed fitting for adlets.

A moment later, Helwic walked into the throne room, wearing a proud smile.

"I've got it!" she announced. "I know how to win Seth over! May I borrow the adlets? This won't take long!"

"Okay," said Xeero, tossing one of Josh's bones into a pile. "We're done with this guy anyway!"

"This better work," said Murdred, as the three adlets followed Helwic out of the throne room. "I need to clear my head."

Seth looked down at Josh's bones. Along with a pool of blood and some innards, they were all that remained of him after being devoured by the adlets.

"Look at that," said Murdred, gesturing towards what was left of Josh, "you couldn't defeat Josh. But with our help, anyone who opposes you will end up just like him."

"What do you want to do with Seth?" asked Demoric.

"I'm not sure," said Murdred. "If Helwic is being truthful, she should be back soon. Seth can wait here with us. Have a seat, Seth."

As though he had been commanded, Demoric used his power to summon a seat for Seth to sit on. It appeared to be the same as the one he had sat on during his previous visit with Murdred.

"Think about it," said Murdred. "You play along with me, and you can do unto anyone the same way Demoric and I treated Josh."

Seth said nothing. He simply crossed his arms and turned his head.

A few minutes later, the doors to the throne room opened up again. Xipp, Xeero and Xillch came in, followed by Helwic. The three adlets appeared to be carrying one or two humans in their arms, all of whom were yelling and squirming in an attempt to get free, but were all failing.

"I have the ingredients we need for the spell," said Helwic.

"Good," said Murdred smugly.

"Put me down!" roared one of the captives that Xillch was holding.

"I told you to shut up," snapped Helwic.

"What do you mean by ingredients?" asked Seth.

"These people are a selection of the worst of the worst," said Helwic. "We traveled to the mortal world and collected an assortment of very malicious people. People so vile, their evil and hatred will be brewed directly into an elixir. And when you drink this elixir, Seth, your very soul and free will shall fall to the dark side. You will be just as wicked and malevolent as Murdred."

"No!" said Seth. "You can't do this!"

Murdred laughed. "Are you telling me what to do? We can force you to drink this potion, and there's not a thing you can do about it!"

"So, what kinds of humans did you snag?" asked Demoric.

"First up is a skinhead," said Helwic, as Xipp tossed a skinhead onto the floor before him. He had a shaven head, and a thick swastika tattooed onto his arm.

"A gang member."

Xeero then tossed a black man wearing a bandana next to the skinhead.

"I'll kill you!" roared the skinhead, as the two men proceeded to start fighting each other. Demoric quickly used his magic to immobilize both of them.

"Easy, you two," said Demoric. "You'll all be dead soon enough."

"A terrorist," said Helwic," as Xillch tossed a Palestinian man wearing a green headband to the floor. "And a mass murderer," she continued, as Xipp then tossed a woman with messy, uncombed hair next to the other three.

"So, these people will do the trick?" asked Demoric.

"What about this one?" asked Xillch, who was still holding a young girl in his arm. She had long, greasy hair and was wearing frayed, ratty clothes, which included a hooded sweater. "I found her on the street when we were looking for that mass murderer. Thought she might be of some use."

Helwic placed her hand up towards the weary girl. "This girl has no inner darkness within her! She is useless to me! Why do you even have her, you idiot?"

"You sure she's no good to us?" said Xipp. "She looks shady."

"She's useless!" blared Helwic. "But it matters not. We already have a sufficient amount of people who, regardless of their beliefs, reek of evil, so we should be able to go ahead with brewing the elixir."

"So, what do we do with this one?" asked Xillch, holding up the girl by her arm.

"I don't care," replied Helwic. "You can eat her for a snack for all I care."

"I'm still full from eating that Josh kid," said Xeero, rubbing his stomach.

"Let's save her for later," said Xipp.

"Forget that insignificant girl!" said Murdred. "Start the preparing the elixir already!"

"Patience, Lord Murdred," said Helwic. "This whole process will take some time."

"How much time?" asked Murdred, crossing his arms.

"Not too long. We just need to gather a few other simple ingredients. Then we mix them all together in a large vat with these four, evil humans. Once the humans are brewed into the elixir, we let it simmer for a while, and when it's ready, we force-feed it to Seth!"

"Excellent," said Murdred. "Xipp, Xeero, Xillch! Take Seth back to his holding chamber! The negafae can start preparing the elixir"

"Got it!" said the adlets, as Xeero grabbed Seth, and proceeded to drag him out of the room. Seth then noticed that Xillch was still holding onto the girl from earlier.

Once they reached the room Seth had been in, Xipp opened the door and Xeero tossed Seth back in. Xillch then tossed the girl in as well, and she landed on the floor next to Seth.

"We're gonna keep this brat with you!" said Xillch. "You can talk to her if you like, but don't get too attached. When we come back for you, Seth, we'll dine on her!"

The adlets slammed the door, then proceeded to walk away laughing. Instinctively, Seth turned to face the fallen girl.

"Um, are you okay?" asked Seth.

"Shut up!" hissed the girl, turning her head away from him. "Just leave me alone!"